


An Evening out

by orphan_account



Category: Glee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-30
Updated: 2011-04-30
Packaged: 2017-10-18 19:46:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/192572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaine has the perfect date planned - and then Kurt goes ahead and asks him out first. Night of Neglect from Blaine’s POV. Fic originally posted 4/22/2011.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Evening out

**Author's Note:**

> I took a bit of artistic license with one scene, but I think I made it better. :D Thanks to Ro and Elaine for the quick beta and to Lacy for encouraging me when I was losing my confidence.

It’s been a week since Blaine kissed Kurt. It’s been a week since they sat down with lattes and tiny birdie coffin supplies and talked about how they felt each other. It’s been a week since Blaine Anderson has been boyfriends with Kurt Hummel.

It’s a weird feeling, he thinks. He feels like there should be a more apparent, physical change, or maybe he should have been granted access to the secrets of the universe, but there’s nothing. He hasn’t grown wings and he hasn’t figured out the meaning of life. Sometimes he _forgets_ that he has a boyfriend because, try as he might, he just can’t think of Kurt for every minute of every day.

It’d be kind of weird if he was thinking about Kurt as he peed, anyway.

Kurt always reminds him, though. He waits outside of Blaine’s Spanish class and walks him to the dining hall and he gives Blaine a kiss before scurrying off to art class after lunch. They carpool back to Lima and sit in their favorite seats in their favorite café and talk about their day. It’s all very domestic and comfortable and Blaine kind of _loves it_.

Still, it’s been a week and they haven’t even gone out on a date _as boyfriends_ yet. They joke about how they’ve been dating all along, how they just never realized it, but Blaine can’t help but think that they’re doing things a little backwards.

So Blaine decides that he’s going to do something about it. He’s going to take Kurt out wherever he wants to go, because if Kurt wants to be there, then so does Blaine. Even knowing that Kurt won’t turn him down, Blaine still gets nerves and doesn’t reign in his courage until one week and two days after he kissed Kurt for the first time.

He knows how he’s going to say it, what inflection he’ll have in his voice. It’ll be smooth and confident. Kurt will laugh and say yes and they’ll talk about what movie they want to see or what restaurant they want to eat at. The scene is like a movie reel in Blaine’s head.

However, it appears he never gave Kurt a script because when Blaine sits down with their coffee orders, Kurt hangs up his phone and asks, “Would you like to go to a concert this Saturday?”

Blaine nearly drops the Styrofoam cup he’s passing to Kurt and splashes a bit of mocha on the table. He stutters out an apology and mops up the mess with a napkin and laughs when Kurt eyes him in amusement.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Kurt says slowly.

Blaine shakes his head and smiles. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to go to a movie on Saturday, actually. I’ve been trying to ask all week but I wasn’t sure if-“

Kurt takes his hand and squeezes his fingers, effectively cutting him off mid-ramble. “I’d love to go to the movies with you.”

There’s a moment where they just stare into each other’s eyes and all of the nerves Blaine felt float away. They lapse into a comfortable silence and sip their coffees and Blaine says, “So tell me about this concert.”

Kurt rolls his eyes. “Just one of Mr. Schue’s clever ideas for fundraising. _A Night of Neglect_ is what Rachel said. It should be good, though. You’ve heard our glee club before.”

Blaine lifts Kurt’s knuckles to his lips and kisses them. “I’d be honored to go with you.”

  
Since Kurt was the one to ask Blaine, and they’re both suckers for romance, they came to an agreement that Kurt would pick them up at seven thirty which would give them plenty of time to find seats and wait for the opening number. They decided against dinner because Breadsticks is busy on Saturday nights, and they wouldn’t want have to rush if they couldn’t be seated right away.

Which is why Blaine is confused when Kurt calls him at quarter to seven, breathless and slightly irritated.

“Whoa, Kurt. Breathe for a second,” he says. Kurt growls but then finally Blaine can hear him breathing over the phone. “What’s going on?”

“Finn’s car broke down and I have to bring him to McKinley because my dad and Carole are out of town for the weekend. Which means I won’t have time to pick you up unless I do that _now_ ,” Kurt explains. There’s a thud and Blaine winces for whatever piece of furniture that Kurt took his frustrations out on. “I’m sorry this is already turning out to be a crappy date. God, it hasn’t even started yet!”

Blaine laughs and eyes his wardrobe. He didn’t think he’d take that long to get ready, but he still wanted to make himself look good for Kurt. “I can be ready in ten minutes, tops. I’ll see you then?”

He can hear the smile in Kurt’s voice when he says, “Okay, I’ll text you when I get there. I can’t come in and do the boyfriend thing, though. Your dad will just have to intimidate me next week.”

“Next week,” Blaine agrees.

  
Kurt arrives just as Blaine is finishing his hair, and Blaine is out of the house before his phone even buzzes with a new text. Finn is in the front seat and as Blaine gets closer, he can hear Kurt arguing with him. Blaine knocks on the window and Kurt jumps in surprise, anger vanishing as he sets his eyes on Blaine. He presses a button on the door and Blaine moves to the back seat.

“I’m sorry you have to sit in the back. Finn’s being a child.”

“I have long legs, dude! I need room to stretch out,” Finn says as if he’s been repeating himself.

Blaine finds it funny that, despite being brothers for only a few months, they act as if they’ve been at each other’s throats since they were little. He’s fairly certain that, though he can be a little thick sometimes, Finn knows exactly what buttons to push to get Kurt riled up, as if it’s a sport he’s always wanted to play and only now has been given the chance.

So instead of making a fuss like he wants to, because Blaine can be selfish when it comes to Kurt, he squeezes his boyfriend’s shoulder and says, “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

Kurt looks at him through the rear-view mirror, eyes pinched with worry, and asks, “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Blaine says, even though he’d like nothing more than to sit in the front seat and hold Kurt’s hand as he drove.

  
By the time they reach McKinley, it’s already past seven and Finn’s flying out of the car before Kurt’s even parked, muttering about how Kurt _didn’t need to stop for every stop sign_. Blaine is quiet as Kurt pulls into a parking spot, puts the Navigator into park, and leans his head against the steering wheel.

Blaine wonders what he’s thinking, if Kurt’s just as frustrated Blaine is beginning to be. Tonight isn’t what he envisioned his first date would be. He’d pictured roses and candle-lit dinners and walks in the park at sundown. He never thought it’d be at a benefit concert for the school that just beat them at Regionals, one that he knew Kurt was sore to return to. It even looked like it was going to rain.

Shaking him out of his own thoughts, Blaine unbuckles himself and slips out of the car. There’s no point in wishing the circumstances were different because even if they don’t seem perfect, he’s still with Kurt and that’s what _really_ matters. He knocks on the driver’s-side window to get Kurt’s attention and opens the door.

Kurt laughs a little and twists in his seat so that he’s facing Blaine. “Sorry about this.”

Blaine has to stand on his toes to reach Kurt but he still manages to kiss him softly. “Don’t be. Since we have so much time to kill, why don’t you show me around?”

Kurt gives him a grateful smile and leads him into the building just as the rain begins.

They don’t hold hands while they’re in the school. Kurt tells him that there are guys who use the weight room over the weekend since football is no longer in session. He doesn’t say it, but by the way Kurt’s carrying himself, Blaine can tell he’s remembering all of the physical emotional scars. Blaine wants to reach out and hold Kurt, wrap him up in his arms and never let go, but he can’t because Kurt has issues associated with those hallways, just as Blaine has his own with his old school. The comforting can come later, long after Kurt has walked the hallways that continue to haunt him.

At one point during their walk, Kurt pauses in a darkened hallway in front of a locker and just stares. If Blaine looks at the metal door from the right angle, he can see where the paint is just a slight shade darker, as if it was repainted not too long ago. Kurt touches the spot briefly and then pulls his hand away as if he’s been burned.

When he looks at Blaine next, all traces of the lost, haunted teen have vanished and in its place is a flirty smile. “I should show you Sue’s trophy case. Did I ever tell you I was a cheerleader?”

Their walk lasts close to curtain time, and Kurt tells him stories about his friends and teachers and even of the bullies who tormented him. Blaine’s attentive and can’t keep his eyes off Kurt. When he talks about New Directions, he does it with a spark Blaine never noticed was missing from their discussions about the Warblers.

When Kurt talks about New Directions, however, it’s a complete shift. He talks as if they’re family, as if winning doesn’t matter. Maybe for McKinley’s glee club, recognition and pride don’t matter to them. Blaine understands the rush of singing, and he gets how good it feels to be up on stage with your best friends, but there’s something about New Directions that he thinks he’s missing.

Brittany and Artie greet them in the hallway and Kurt watches them go into the choir room wistfully, his mind a million miles - or maybe just twenty feet - away. Blaine knows then that he’s not going to lose Kurt to another guy but to this group of misfits who are so firmly rooted into Kurt’s life that he’s not entirely sure if he even fits.

Like a good Dalton boy, Blaine shrugs off the bad thoughts and squares his shoulders. “Aw, you miss them,” he teases.

Kurt opens his mouth to respond but they’re interrupted by none other than public enemy number one, Dave Karofsky. He’s just as huge as Blaine remembered, arms the size of Blaine’s head and looming over them like a gorilla. For a moment, Blaine lets himself be intimidated as his mind reels back to his own experiences with high school bullies.

Then Blaine is saying something and Dave is provoking him and they’re shoving each other but he can’t remember _why_. Blaine’s ears ring, even as Santana pulls them apart and threatens to turn him into a eunuch. He can hear Kurt, though, his brave, strong Kurt whose voice is shaking as he speaks, and Blaine wants to tackle Karofsky to the ground.

There’s a small voice in the back of his head, one that sounds suspiciously like the dean that tells Blaine that Dalton boys don’t fight. Dalton boys look down on the heathens who use their fists to get their way. Blaine’s so full of rage, though, and has been for such a long time that he’s not sure if he can reel it back in any longer.

Dave scampers away before Blaine can make his decision, and Santana turns to him with a smirk. He says, “We could’ve handled that.”

“It was more fun doing it together.” Santana gives him a genuine smile, a thing that even Blaine knows is rare, and disappears when her phone buzzes with a new text.

Blaine looks at Kurt after she’s left, the words echoing in his head. _Together_. Maybe that’s what is missing from the Warblers. Sure, his friends will support him no matter what but Blaine doubts that they’d be willing to back him up in a fight.

“We should find a seat,” Kurt says, snapping Blaine out of his thoughts. This time, he takes Blaine’s arm and walks close as they make their way back toward the auditorium.

  
The April Rhodes Civic Pavillion is empty. Blaine’s heart sinks just looking at the rows upon rows of empty seats as they enter. Kurt squeezes his arm and lets go, checking his phone for the time and matching it with the time on the front of the program. They’re on time, however, and there’s no one in the audience except for four lone figures.

Kurt grabs Blaine’s elbow and steers him toward the back, away from the stage and the others watching. When they sit, Kurt explains, “The girl in the front is Sue Sylvester’s lacky. Sue and I might get along better than most of the other McKinley students, but she probably hasn’t forgotten how I didn’t rat the Warblers setlist out to her. The hulking Neanderthal over there? That’s Azimio Adams, Karofsky’s best friend. He’s smart _and_ mean. The guy with the frizzy hair is Jacob Ben Israel. He has the most popular gossip blog in Lima. The older guy is Mr. Ryerson. He was the old glee club director but was fired for inappropriate behavior toward a student. Needless to say, he’s sworn revenge on the glee club.”

Blaine frowns because how could so much evil fit in one school? He’d had a few bullies, sure, and the teachers were slightly negligent, but Kurt made it sound like McKinley was a Hellmouth for hatred.

Kurt looks at him apologetically and Blaine bumps his shoulder. He understands why Kurt dragged him to the balcony, though, and why he hasn’t moved to hold Blaine’s hand despite the darkened theater. Each one of them could make his life miserable if they’re given the right ammo and Blaine can admit that he’s the _perfect_ ammo.

  
New Directions’ Night of Neglect is an apt name, Blaine thinks as Tina goes running off the stage in tears. The band stands around awkwardly, the last note hanging in the air like a noose for Blaine’s date with Kurt. He gets the sudden urge to run away from this awful night, to kiss Kurt on the cheek and suggest they try it again next week.

“This is a disaster,” Kurt says, voice strained. Blaine knows he isn’t talking about their date but the concert, speaking in a way as if it’s _his_ performance that’s ruined.

“It’s not that bad,” Blaine tries, but Kurt looks at him with a pained expression. Lying would just add insult to injury. “Okay, it’s really bad. I did like what Tina sang before she ran off the stage, though.”

Kurt laughs wryly. The theater is dark and the four hecklers in front are too busy grumbling and snickering over Tina’s performance to even notice them. Blaine knows he can’t get away with putting his arm around Kurt’s shoulders or even with holding his hand because Kurt will freeze up like he did when he first transferred, but he wants to reassure him somehow.

“If we were somewhere else,” Blaine says, voice pitched low and soft in hopes that the sound won’t travel. “If we could get away with it without attracting attention, I’d be holding your hand right now. Maybe I’d have my arm around your shoulders and you’d lean into me and we could just, I don’t know, _cuddle_.”

Kurt turns to him and for a breath, Blaine wonders if he stepped over a line. They haven’t been boyfriends long. Do boyfriends cuddle after a week and a half? He wonders. All of the gay films he’d watched always skipped right to sex and never really covered the steps between admitting they liked each other and rolling around in bed.

Then Kurt smiles and covers his hand briefly. “If we could get away with it, I’d kiss you right now.”

Maybe this romance thing is easier than Blaine thought.

  
After Mike’s dance solo and during intermission, Kurt pulls Blaine down the hall and into an unused classroom. Mobiles of stars and planets cover the ceiling so Blaine takes a wild guess. “Astronomy room?”

Kurt smiles and pushes against Blaine’s shoulders until he’s backed up against a desk. Blaine takes the hint and sits so that Kurt can fit between his legs. This is nice and familiar and the room is dark enough that no one would think to look for them in there. They kiss slowly, softly, lips brushing against each other as if they’re doing it for the first time. Kurt leans in further and applies just enough pressure to make Blaine grunt and bring his hands up to Kurt’s waist.

The kiss tells Blaine more than he knows Kurt will ever vocalize. All of the affection and adoration that Kurt’s still afraid to say out of fear of rejection; apologies and promises and secrets. Blaine will hear them all one day, will be told of them by Kurt’s words rather than his kisses, but it isn’t the right time for that. They’re still new to this, they still have a lot of work to do in regards to their own issues concerning trust and reliance upon other people.

He knows that they’ll get there one day, though, and he’s content to take it slow.

When Kurt pulls back, Blaine knows they only have a few minutes before they have to be back in the auditorium to see the rest of the show. Instead of seeking out another kiss, he wraps his arms around his boyfriend and hugs him until the end of intermission.

  
Mr. Ryerson is heckling again when the return for the second act. Blaine sees red because _who does he think he is anyway_ , jeering his former students. The other three students that were in the audience seem to have left, but this bitter man is still letting hate pour out of his mouth.

“You’re a horrible person, you know that?” Blaine hisses. Kurt pushes him to the other side of the auditorium, away from Mr. Ryerson and into new seats.

“Just don’t listen to him,” Kurt says when they sit down. “He doesn’t matter.”

Blaine knows that that’s a lie, though, because people like Mr. Ryerson matter the most. Haters like the ones who showed up to the Night of Neglect concert may have their attention on the stage, but there’s no love there, nothing for the performers to work off of. Blaine doesn’t understand how anyone can perform without receiving that kind of love; what’s the point otherwise? Until Jeremiah, Blaine had always received raving reviews on his performances.

As if sensing his distress, Kurt places his hand on Blaine’s and knocks his shoulder. It’s a little funny, really, how they can comfort each other with nothing more than a casual touch. Just having Kurt next to him, really there and holding onto him, calms Blaine down enough to concentrate on Holly Holiday’s performance.

Their whole friendship seems to be founded on casual touches. From the first moment they met, Blaine was holding Kurt’s hand and patting his shoulder and telling Kurt that everything will be okay, not by words but by actions. It seems natural that their relationship should include the same physical comforts only with bonus kissing.

Upon reflection, Blaine decides that their first date hasn’t been a total loss. Kurt seems to be enjoying himself well enough and Blaine has gained enough insight into Kurt’s life to crave more. The world of McKinley is different, horrifying even, but every moment Blaine spends learning about it, it helps him understand what makes Kurt tick.

Ms. Holiday’s song is sad, but beautiful, and they give her a standing ovation as she glides off stage. The house lights come up and there’s a noise coming from near the exit. The rest of the glee club is piling into the auditorium, paired off into couples without any care in the world, and sitting in the front sections.

Blaine stands and offers his hand to Kurt. “Let’s go down there and join them. It’d be much more fun to watch Mercedes with your friends than up here all alone.”

“Are you saying that I’m not interesting enough to sit with, Mr. Anderson? And here I thought you were a gentleman.” Still, Kurt smiles coyly and takes his hand, saving Blaine from having to remove the foot from his mouth.

Brittany gives Blaine a hug when they descend the stairs and demands that he and Kurt sit with her and Artie. Blaine likes that Kurt’s friends have not only accepted him into their circle of friends but they’ve a;so accepted him as Kurt’s boyfriend. If Kurt told them of any trouble that they may have had before, there’s no animosity there. Even Puck, who’d eyed Blaine suspiciously every time they’d been in the same room together, grins at him and gives him a thumbs up.

Kurt leans into him as they sit down and rests his head against Blaine’s shoulder. The position can’t be entirely comfortable with the armrest in the way, but Kurt doesn’t seem to mind and even holds Blaine’s hand in his lap, fingers laced together like they’ve been that way for years. Blaine has to laugh at himself because they’ve been dating for less than two weeks and they already look like an old married couple.

Blaine knew that Mercedes had quite a voice on her. He’d heard her sing during Rachel’s party and whenever he’d hang out with Kurt’s friends for bowling or pizza or movies, but that was nothing compared to the brilliant star he saw before him.

“Isn’t she amazing?” Kurt whispers, adoration thick in his voice. “It’s her favorite song. By Aretha, at least.”

“Will you dance with me?” Blaine asks. The words are as a surprise to him as they are to Kurt but he doesn’t regret asking. He wants to hold Kurt and show the world, Kurt’s world, that he isn’t afraid to be seen with him. Damn the consequences, he’s proud to know Kurt.

They won’t get a prom because Dalton doesn’t do those. Even with Dalton’s general acceptance of their relationship, they still don’t get to slow dance with each other with the other Warblers shuffling with their girlfriends around them. Kurt and Blaine won’t get their moment of the teenage cliché.

So now is a good a time as any to dance together, and not in the step-step-turn dance that the Warblers choreograph. Blaine wants to hold Kurt close and sway to the music with all of their McKinley friends to see. It’s not the most romantic song, and it’s not the most romantic evening, but Blaine already knows he sucks at romance. This is him trying.

Kurt says, “Yes,” breathlessly, absurdly happy, and pulls Blaine to his feet. There’s a slight awkward shuffle where they aren’t sure who will lead, and they laugh as the others stare at them in confusion. Eventually, though, Kurt puts his hand on Blaine’s hip and Blaine puts his on Kurt’s shoulder and they begin to move.

Dancing with Kurt is like walking through a dream, because Kurt is a great dancer and Blaine fits so perfectly in his arms. Nick and Jeff had teased them about Kurt’s slight height difference when they announced that they were together, but Blaine hadn’t really thought about it before. Now he gets it, though. Kurt’s shoulders are broader and Blaine is left feeling protected as Kurt curls around him.

Things aren’t perfect, not by a long shot. Kurt is still skittish and afraid of rejection; Blaine is terrible at romance. The world doesn’t want them to be together. Having their first dance in a school auditorium with their friends watching them isn’t how Blaine imagined his first ever date with a boy, but he thinks he wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
